After accepting Ian Song's three first-grade profound pills, the boatman immediately pulled out a piece of beast hide from his coat—on it was drawn the sea route chart for this voyage.
Everyone gritted their teeth in frustration—this boatman was clearly extorting them.
"Senior Brother Huang, should we give that greedy guy a lesson?" Rose Changsun shot a hostile look at Sam Gu, seeking Ian Song's opinion.
"Junior Sister Changsun, do you think that boatman is stupid?" Ian Song asked meaningfully.
Rose Changsun replied, "No way, that guy is way too sly."
Ian Song nodded. "Since he's not stupid, why would he dare to extort us so blatantly? If he were highly skilled, fine—but he's just a Body-Refining cultivator. Who gave him the guts to try this, and act so fearless about it?"
Hearing Ian Song's words, everyone looked thoughtful.
"Could it be Sanctum Martial Academy?" Eric Zhou guessed.
"Most likely," Ian Song nodded again. "If I'm right, this boatman will play a big role in our journey. If we recklessly mess with him, it'll backfire. He's greedy, isn't he? We can just buy him off!"
Hearing this, everyone agreed wholeheartedly—and their respect for Ian Song grew a little more.
Ian Song wasn't sure whether the boatmen on the other ships were as cunning as the one on their own, but he was certain that someone among the candidates would end up suffering losses because of these boatmen.
During the first hour, Ian and the others could still see some of the other boats nearby.
But after another hour, the distance between them had stretched so far that it was hard to spot any other ships.
This boat wasn't very big; with eleven people aboard, there was barely any space left.
For the first three or four hours, quite a few people were still interested in the ocean scenery around them, but gradually, everyone grew numb and just sat cross-legged on the boat, meditating to recover their strength.
Ian didn’t meditate. Instead, he went to sit beside the boatman, Sam Gu, to ask him about steering the boat and how to navigate on the open sea.
Sam Gu might seem cunning, but he was actually pretty straightforward. After Ian gave him another first-grade profound pill, Sam happily taught him everything he knew about steering and finding direction at sea, holding nothing back.
Ian’s spiritual power and memory were both exceptional, so he mastered the art of steering in just one hour.
The small boat wasn’t made of wood, but of a light, extremely sturdy metal Ian had never seen before—something like the titanium alloys used to build airplanes in the real world.
On top of that, the boat was inscribed with a Power Formation—by channeling a bit of physical strength, the craft could shoot across the waves at high speed.
In this world, the power martial artists cultivate is mainly used for battle and attack; it actually doesn’t do much to extend their lifespans.
That’s mostly because of the environment here.
After all, among the three races—human, demon, and beast—the Human Race is the weakest. If their martial strength weren’t fierce enough, they would’ve long since been devoured down to the last bone fragment by the demons and beasts. That’s why humans focus their research on boosting martial power and destructive ability.
But the formation arts in this world are quite refined, which Ian found very interesting.
At Pristine Way Sect, he’d seen Illusion, Defensive, and Gravity Trial Formations. Now, he was seeing a Power Formation firsthand.
If humans ever focused on formation research, maybe one day they could build formation-powered airplanes, trains, and cannons.
Unfortunately, humans still prioritize martial cultivation.
Formations are just a secondary thing—hardly anyone studies them seriously.
After learning how to steer and navigate, Ian pulled out the route chart to study it.
The distance from Seacoast Province to Holy Spirit Island was about fourteen thousand six hundred sea miles.
This little boat could barely cover twelve hundred sea miles a day, so as long as they didn’t get delayed too much, reaching Holy Spirit Island within the allotted time shouldn’t be a problem.
Suddenly, Ian put away the route chart—he sensed the boat’s speed had surged noticeably.
Instinctively, he shot up into the air, soaring dozens of meters high to scout ahead. In his earlier chat with Sam Gu, he’d mentioned that the ocean held many whirlpools—fall into one, and you’d be swallowed whole.
Sure enough, a massive whirlpool had appeared more than ten sea miles ahead.
When Ian landed back on the boat, everyone else stopped meditating.
"Brother Huang, did something happen?"
Ian said gravely, "There’s a huge whirlpool about ten sea miles ahead. Everyone, hurry and help Sam row—we need to take a detour."
Everyone scrambled to grab the oars and start rowing, but except for Ian, none of them actually knew how. So when they all pitched in, the boat just spun in circles.
Ian quickly explained the basics of rowing to them.
Half an hour later, the boat finally skirted around the whirlpool, leaving everyone a bit shaken.
Because aside from Ian and the boatman, no one knew how to row—they’d almost been dragged into the whirlpool.
"In about three more hours, we’ll reach a small island. We’ll rest there for the night," Ian told the group.
No one objected. After the whirlpool scare, everyone recognized Ian’s leadership—if he hadn’t spotted the danger and taught them how to row, they probably would’ve been swept up by the vortex.
Even if they’d barely survived, losing the boat in the endless ocean would make it almost impossible to stay alive.
Three hours later.
A small island appeared in the distance.
After drifting at sea for hours, everyone was desperate to set foot on solid ground. They eagerly grabbed the oars and rowed together, making the boat speed up several times over. In less than fifteen minutes, they reached the island.
After dragging the boat onto the beach, Ian organized everyone into four teams. One person plus Sam Gu stayed behind to guard the boat, while the other three teams of three went to collect firewood, hunt for food, and search for fresh water.
Considering Harriet Gu’s temperament, Ian assigned her to stay on the beach.
Ian teamed up with Yoon Zhengyang and Rose Changsun; Eric Zhou, Ian Tian, and Howard Changsun formed another group, while the remaining three made up the last team.
Everyone worked efficiently—in less than half an hour, they found enough firewood and fresh water, and Ian’s hunting group even killed two first-tier Demonic Beasts.
Soon, two bonfires were crackling on the beach, making cheerful popping sounds.
Eric Zhou claimed he was great at grilling, so he and Ian each took a beast to roast.
After removing the monster cores, Ian casually tossed both to Sam Gu, who happily accepted them without complaint.
Within half an hour, the beast Ian was roasting had turned a beautiful golden brown, rich juices dripping down and making the fire hiss.
By contrast, Eric’s roast was almost done, but some parts were scorched and, in terms of looks, it was nowhere near as appetizing as Ian’s.
Seeing this, Rose Changsun couldn’t help but praise, "Brother Huang, you’re amazing—even your grilling skills are this impressive."